Limit Reached
by WickedSlayer1432
Summary: An alternate take on what happened to Matt after his breakdown in the truck in 4x15. No one informed him of the fire at The Gilbert House, so when he arrives he tries to save who is left inside.


**A/N: **This is the first thing I've written in a long time, so I'm sorry if it sucks. I just have a lot of feelings when it comes to Jeremy and Matt, so that's how this came out.

* * *

Matt Donovan was at his limit. When he had gotten the news of everyone returning from the island and to head over, he didn't know what to expect. Had they found the cure? Had anything went wrong? Was everyone okay? For a spilt second he had let himself think it was all going to be okay, but Caroline's voice shot through his head again. There had been something she wasn't saying, it seemed like she couldn't.

"_Caroline?" He asked into the phone, as he answered. His legs swung off the couch to place his feet on the floor._

"_Matt… Hey" She whispered from her side of the line. He shifted forward, placing a hand on his left knee. _

"_Is-"_

"_Their back from the island" She quickly said, cutting him off "You need to head over, fast." He almost sprung from the couch, trying to get to his feet. Before he could ask any questions Caroline quickly told him he had to take care of some more things but will see him at the house. The call ended, he shoved the phone in his pocket and started heading toward his truck._

He should have known nothing was okay; it never is in this town. Jeremy was gone. Jeremy Gilbert, the boy his sister had dated, the younger brother of his old high school sweetheart/best-friend, the boy he himself had grown so closely with. Just gone, all because of some stupid cure that apparently was only for one person, and there wasn't anything any of them could do. Sure Bonnie had a _crazy_ ass plan to bring everyone back. That wasn't an option.

He shifted in the driver seat of his truck, trying to regain his normal breathing. Where did he go now? Back to the Gilbert house? That probably was the best plan. Elena needed her friends right now. With a groan, he wiped his face off with the back of his arm. Couldn't let anyone see him like this, he had to be strong.

Matt felt like he almost broke the gearshift as he slammed it into park, eyes locked where the house he had been living in recently was engulfed in flames. His hands fumbled with the seat-belt, then with the handle as he scurried out the door.

"Elena?!" He yelled, getting out of truck staring at the fire. What the hell had happened? He wasn't gone for too long; he took Bonnie home then had a moment to himself. He should have been here! His hands fumbled into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Dialing as quickly as he could, he called the fire department then tried the others. The only one he got was Caroline, she seemed as clueless about the house as he was.

"Is there anyone inside?!"

Matt's face dropped again. He didn't respond as he felt himself headed toward the door. The phone that was in his hand seconds ago, slammed against the pavement and he was hurrying up the porches steps. Knowing better than to use the handle, he rammed his shoulder against the door. It flung open and the site caught him off guard. Memories quickly seemed to flash through his head, as his eyes scanned the room.

"Elena?!" He yelled, stepping inside, covering his mouth in the crook of his elbow. "Damon? Stefan?!". Nothing. No response. All kinds of theories were flying through his head, but everything came to a halt once he saw the top of someone's head on the armchair of the couch.

"Jer…" He whispered to himself. A loud crack inside the house, snapped him back into reality. _'Focus!'_ He yelled at himself, before shooting to the living room. Jeremy's body was on fire. He spun around, looking around for anything he could fine. Going to the window, he grabbed onto the curtains and ripped them down. The pole they were attached to swung down to, slamming into him. Back slamming against the ground, he could feel the flames around him. He rolled to his side as much as he could, trying to get to his feet and untangle the curtain. At the bottom, it had caught fire and was starting to catch onto his leg. With a annoyed yell, he kicked it off his leg as fast as possible before spinning to face Jeremy. There wasn't much of a choice left, he could hear the house burning, could feel himself getting tired from the smoke and hot from the flames. His hands quickly grabbed his jacket and started shimming it off. Once he had it all the way off, he grabbed the blanket on his friend's body and tossed it off. His teeth clenched, ignoring the burn he just did to himself as he focused on trying to pat out the flames that where on the clothes.

He leaned forward, sliding his hands around Jeremy as much as he could then pull back. It took all he had to lift the body over his shoulder. Eyes locked on the door, his left hand tightened on Jeremy's leg and the other covered his own mouth. There wasn't much time left, he knew it. His eyes were getting heavy, and he was starting to cough uncontrollably.

'_You got this, dude. Just get to the door as fast as possible and it's over. You will have gotten Jeremy and yourself out. Then we can bur-'_

Matt's train of thought was cut short as a beam came flying down in front of him, blocking the exit. Eyes widened in disbelief. This couldn't be happening. Turning to his left he started down the hallway towards the back door. He could feel is strength starting to slip. Without giving it a second thought he removed his hand from his mouth to grab onto Jeremy. Both hands now clung to the body with all their might, as the person they belong to tried to keep from getting on fire and towards the door. A whistle could be heard to his right, in the kitchen. His head slowly turned to look only to be greeted by an explosion sending him and the body over his shoulder to the ground.

Head slamming against the floor, Matt's eye sight started fading in and out. This wasn't the plan. It wasn't supposed to end up like this. He groaned, trying to push himself up, but when pressure was applied to his right hand a sharp pain shot though him and he collapsed. His eyes looked at the limb, and saw his wrist bone had popped out. Turning his attention from that he looked over at Jeremy's body, it wasn't too far away. With shaky breathing, he placed his burned left hand forward then moved his right arm as much as possible. Instead of using the hand, he tried to use the elbow. Tears began to swell up in his eyes, making his vision murky. No. He had to do this. It took all he had to get in arms reach of his friend.

Earlier tonight he thought he had reached his limit but he was wrong. Right now, in this moment. This was his limit. Matt Donovan's breath started slowing down as his eyes stared towards Jeremy. Another loud crack happened somewhere, but he kept his eyes locked. There wasn't a point in looking, it was going to cause him to tire out faster. He placed his right elbow forward again, dragging his body one more time closer to his friend. No one was around so he didn't think twice about letting out his muffled cry. It was mixed with pain, frustration, sadness. Sucking in a breath, he reached out his burned left hand toward Jeremy's. His fingers brushed against the cold hand before slinging into them and gripping it tightly.

'_Goodbye, Jer.'_


End file.
